Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said he would repeal four key Environmental Protection Agency regulations as president, leading one environmental group to call his plans a “dumpster fire.”
During an economic policy speech in New York, Trump said he would eliminate the Clean Power Plan and the Waters of the United States rule. In a fact sheet released accompanying the speech, Trump’s campaign said he would scale back the latest regulations on ozone pollution and eliminate the EPA’s Renewable Identification Number program, which is part of the Renewable Fuel Standard program.
Trump said the regulations harm U.S. businesses and getting rid of them would help kick-start the economy.
“This Obama-Clinton directive will shut down most, if not all, coal-powered electricity plans in America,” Trump said of the Clean Power Plan. ” They’re shutting down all over the country. Remember what Hillary Clinton said? She wants to shut down the miners, just like she wants to shut down the steel mills and steel workers.”
Trump also seemed to endorse the policies set out by the Institute for Energy Research, a pro-fossil fuels group, that would see all federal lands be opened to fossil fuel production. Trump mistakenly referred to the group as the Institute for American Energy Resources, which does not exist.
Trump cited the cost of the Clean Power Plan, which directs states to cut carbon emissions from existing power plants by 30 percent by 2030, as the main reason for eliminating it. The fact sheet stated it would essentially shut down most coal power plants.
The Waters of the United States rule, which seeks to clarify Supreme Court decisions on what is a federally protected water source, would simply cover too many bodies of water, the fact sheet said.
Trump is also not a fan of the stricter standards for ozone pollution, which require communities to limit ozone pollution to 70 parts per billion.
“The new ozone standard will push hundreds of communities out of compliance, and force states to devise plans to limit industrial activity and transportation projects, as well as replace existing emissions control equipment with more advanced (and costly) emissions equipment,” the fact sheet said.
It’s not clear if Trump would support repealing the Renewable Fuel Standard, which sets the amount of renewable fuels, mainly corn ethanol, that is put into the gasoline supply each year. While campaigning in Iowa before the state’s caucuses, Trump told voters he supported the Renewable Fuel Standard.
“These requirements have turned out to be impossible to meet and are bankrupting many of the small and midsize refineries in this country,” the fact sheet said. “These regulations will give Big Oil an oligopoly by destroying the small to mid-size refineries.”
Trump’s campaign did not immediately return a request for clarification on his stance on the Renewable Fuel Standard. The fact sheet was taken off Trump’s website around 1:30 p.m.
Trump’s proposed repeal of the regulations are in line with his previous anti-environment promises, such as eliminating the EPA and backing out of the Paris Agreement on climate change, said Khalid Pitts, political director at the Sierra Club.
Pitts said Trump is the worst environmental candidate in history. He noted that Trump proposed repealing an environmental regulation meant to protect clean water a day after visiting Flint, Mich., a town whose water supply has been contaminated with lead.
“The only thing associated with his campaign that remotely resembles ‘alternative energy’ are the flames from the dumpster fire that is his energy policy, and those are obviously unhealthy to be around,” Pitts said. “Put simply, Trump’s energy plan is this: he opposes any policy that will tackle the climate crisis or grow our clean energy economy, and he supports any policy that props up the dirty fossil fuel industry.”
